Chapter 37 – Kierd Soft

The first winter of my previous life had been exceptionally cold.

It seemed that this time, it would be no different.

Even though it was only mid-November, white sleet was falling outside the large glass windows of the brightly lit Shopping Mall 6th Floor.

“Wow… Hyung. It’s already the first snow.”

“I feel like it’s gonna be damn cold this year.”

Seongjae let out a sigh as he roughly ruffled the hair of his childishly excited younger brother.

The silver lining was that, due to our nature of using thermal power generators, supplying hot water wasn’t a major issue. Furthermore, heating facilities utilizing that water and electricity were well-prepared.

‘I really suffered because of the cold around this time in my previous life.’

Feeling the warmth heating my back, I continued to check the Observation Probe without even stepping out from under the covers.

The place I was looking at was the Ansan Stadium.

It was a place that had been transformed into a considerable scale through several recent expansions. Since the construction had only recently finished, it hadn’t even hosted a proper game before the situation erupted…

But now, it had become the cradle of a Monster Nest.

Of course, it was correspondingly massive in scale.

‘An Assault Cannon wouldn’t be able to handle this.’

Even when raiding the smaller nest last time, I had to push the Assault Cannon to its limits just to pierce through that Mana Shield. There was a reason why humanity had left such nests alone, unable to deal with them.

Of course, that didn’t mean I had no way.

‘Well… if I summon that, there shouldn’t be any big problem.’

Unless it were an urgent situation like last time, there were plenty of ways to deal with a nest from which there was nowhere to run.

Especially now, since my Mana Quantity had increased to the point where I could summon Large-Class machinery.

Meanwhile, if that Monster Nest was the ‘foot’ of Choi Seunghwan’s subordinates, the one playing the role of the ‘hand’ was none other than a Special Entity.

I was able to immediately confirm it was a Special Entity as soon as I saw it, for an obvious reason.

‘With lava wrapped around it like that, there’s no way I wouldn’t know.’

The creature was constantly spitting out glowing red liquid stone; anyone would have noticed immediately. However, the actual monster spitting out the lava was difficult to discern with the naked eye.

‘They said it was a Fish-shaped Monster…’

Fortunately, having memories from before regression, I knew what form the monster took, but since it was a creature that kept moving, it was difficult to pinpoint its exact location.

The pond of lava surrounded the nest like a moat. Rather than encircling it perfectly like a donut, it was in a U-shape, leaving the passage for the monsters emerging from the nest open.

‘How should I tackle this…’

I began to devise a plan slowly, but surely.

‘At that scale, there might even be Lava Essence.’

My mouth watered at the thought of upgrading.

* * *

Meanwhile, there were other forces that had finished their internal consolidation and were beginning to turn their gaze outward. One such person was Kim Mincheol, who had come into direct confrontation with Choi Seunghwan of Incheon.

In his 40s, having lived an ordinary life as a middle manager at a small-to-medium enterprise, he only began to show his true value once the world collapsed.

He established a focal point centered around his company colleagues and their families. In a changing world, he ousted the selfish president who tried to satisfy his own greed by asserting authority.

Afterward, through another vote, he established himself as a communicative leader leading the group. As he gradually expanded his influence, he had eventually transformed into the largest force in Bucheon. It was almost ironic that they had named their group after their company.

Of course, his own abilities played a large role in that background.

Simply put, he could consume mana to determine if an opponent had the intention to cooperate with him.

However, just knowing at least who was an enemy and who was an ally was an enormous help in surviving this world.

To counter this ability and keep their intentions hidden, Mincheol’s opponents had to use more mana than Mincheol himself did.

Few could beat the amount of training Mincheol had undergone, having used his ability every time there was an opportunity while expanding his power.

But even he…

Was afraid of Choi Seunghwan of Incheon.

Every human possesses a sliver of an intention to cooperate.

Even a Marauder, as long as they are human.

For instance, even when a Marauder spat out an absurd condition—that they would take everything but spare his life.

Mincheol could perceive that sliver of cooperative intent.

In a world like this, taking everything was practically the same as murder.

But he had come to realize that the fact that they would ‘at least spare his life’ was judged as a minimum intention of cooperation.

However… he could find absolutely no such intention of cooperation from the four people Choi Seunghwan had sent as envoys.

Not even a sliver.

From all four of them.

‘This is impossible…’

Kim Mincheol froze in fear.

If they were truly human, could they harbor such endless hostile malice toward another person, without even the slightest room for cooperation?

Yes, if they were human.

And all four of them? There was no room for doubt. Moreover, if even the envoys were like this, what kind of person was Choi Seunghwan himself?

Kim Mincheol felt an instinctive fear of the existence known as Choi Seunghwan.

It was a natural progression for him to reject Choi Seunghwan and begin inquiring whether there were any other collaborators nearby for the sake of survival.

But there was a problem.

While there were large forces in Gwangmyeong City to the east or in Seoul, they were too far away to be of help in an emergency, and since they were competing with each other, it didn’t seem like they would be of much assistance.

‘I need a force that is close by… and possesses an unrivaled position.’

He had even hesitated over whether he should reach out to the Looters stationed in the Geumhwa New City New Town.

Their actions were famous for being atrocious, and rumors circulated that the smell of rotting corpses permeated the area where they lived.

But in Kim Mincheol’s eyes, they were at least ‘human.’

And if they were human, he thought they could at least fight together against the clear villain, Choi Seunghwan of Incheon.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend; even if he couldn’t expect a full alliance, he thought it might be okay if they could at least form a common front.

However… those thoughts were ruthlessly shattered.

Someone had crushed that Looter force.

And in less than a week at that.

‘Is that even a possible speed?’

At first, he wondered if it was Choi Seunghwan’s doing. But as time went on, the rumors he heard repeatedly overturned his expectations.

‘I heard they built some kind of castle in the old downtown area and live there.’

‘They say they just give out electricity and water for free?’

‘They say supplies are piled up like mountains. Apparently, there’s nothing they don’t have, from clothes to food.’

‘They even go on patrols outside. Instead of just defending when attacked, they actually go out to find and kill monsters.’

‘I heard they’re making some kind of steam train. What on earth would they use that for…’

It was full of content that defied common sense.

Initially, the feeling of fear toward this unknown force was great, but after seeing their detachments a few times, it reached a level of wonder.

Knight Armor of unknown origin and guns with peculiar shapes. On top of that, dwarf spearmen who it wasn’t even clear were human. Their appearance was far too unique.

But contrary to their peculiar appearance, they were showing phenomenal combat skills against monsters.

Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat—

Monsters were shredded before they could even approach.

Pshhh!

And those that did approach were pierced by spears.

Kim Mincheol saw a new hope in this.

‘This… I’ll have to go visit them in person.’

That was the decision the man made.

* * *

Mincheol arrived at the place shrouded in rumors, accompanied by two attendants, disguising their identity as a diplomatic mission. In the middle of the downtown area stood a castle boasting an imposing presence.

“Wow… a castle of this scale already… What kind of ability does the owner here have?”

“It seems quite a few people live here too?”

The two attendants, being on the younger side, were whispering among themselves.

“You may enter on the condition that you disarm.”

Permission to enter was granted.

Mincheol was surprised once again to see the steel drawbridge operating, but at the same time, another thought occurred to him.

‘Are they fools? They don’t even know what abilities we have… is it okay to let us in like this?’

But Mincheol quickly realized.

‘No… this is confidence.’

He didn’t know who the owner of the castle was, but this was a person who had built such a fortress. There was no way they hadn’t taken every precaution for security.

Rather, they were saying:

No matter what you do, it’s useless.

Perhaps it was a thought triggered by the black dwarf spearman with an ominous aura who was silently following behind them.

Mincheol tried to use his ability to check the intention of that black spearman, but the response was a complete lack of reaction, as if he had used the ability on a brick.

‘As I thought, it’s not a human…’

In the end, Mincheol had to be satisfied with having obtained at least a minimum amount of information.

And soon, they were escorted one by one into small rooms for a brief interview under a binding contract. They could refuse to answer, but the condition was that they must not lie.

‘Certainly… a contract ability can be used in this way too.’

Mincheol was impressed. Once they were led into the interior where people were active, they couldn’t help but be surprised once again.

“Giggle!”

Brightly laughing children were running and playing in the alleys.

“Hey, why are you eating that!”

“I think this tastes good.”

Even the adults were complaining about the food.

‘Is… is this really the same era I’m living in?’

Mincheol thought of his wife, who was probably still strictly controlling and feeding their children’s meals at home.

Moreover, it wasn’t much different from his time in professional life.

In a society of infinite competition, children would endure academies until 10 PM and often had to do homework even after returning home.

As for himself, between overtime and company dinners, it was rare for him to return home before 11 PM.

Sometimes he wondered if this was right. But he gritted his teeth and endured. At least, for the sake of his children.

However… seeing this sight now, he felt a sense of skepticism.

‘Perhaps… they might even be happier than in modern society.’

He thought that, then shook his head in surprise.

‘No, that can’t be. There’s no way.’

Kim Mincheol steadied his wavering heart.

“This way, please.”

Following the guide, he moved to meet the Lord.

* * *

I observed his appearance in detail through the Observation Probe.

‘This is definitely Kim Mincheol, right?’

There was no way I wouldn’t recognize him. I had Observation Probes attached to all the influential figures among the large nearby forces.

Specifically, among them, Kim Mincheol was the leader of the survivors in Bucheon, which was close by, and I had been considering a proposal for an alliance to keep Choi Seunghwan in check.

I had confirmed not only his ability but also the abilities and levels of his attendants. Thanks to that, while pretending to be cautious, I could inwardly feel at ease and let them into the castle.

‘Seeing as he came in person, he must be quite desperate.’

I grinned. Thanks to the overwhelming information gap between him and me, this was no different from a tilted playing field.

So… when I faced Kim Mincheol:

“We are a delegation representing [Kierd Soft], the largest survivor force in Bucheon. We have come to propose an alliance with your force.”

“Hmm… An alliance with you? Why should I?”

I decided to play hard to get.

* * *

A short while later.

After finishing the negotiations with them, I immediately assigned an escort detail and sent them back. Of course, it wasn’t for free.

‘I didn’t expect him to give in this much…’

Partly because he lost the initiative after failing to use an ability on me, but it seemed he was in a much more desperate state than I had imagined.

In particular, it was impressive how he indirectly expressed his fear of Choi Seunghwan of Incheon. At the very least, Kim Mincheol must have grasped Choi Seunghwan’s identity to some extent.

‘It’s a faster conversation when they know the situation they’re in.’

On the condition of helping protect them, I decided to receive a certain amount of Mana Stones as a tribute. I also set many conditions favorable to me, such as requests for information, personnel exchange, and the introduction of an economy under my lead.

However, I did not request supplies closely tied to survival, such as food or clothing. I even rejected an offer they made first.

‘Well… I don’t need them right now anyway.’

I had to think more long-term. Supplies were sufficient, and I was planning to start production soon.

Requesting resources that people are sensitive about would only sour the relationship, and it was obvious they wouldn’t be able to provide them properly anyway.

There is no one in the world who would give away clothes and food when their own child is shivering and starving.

Therefore, I decided to receive ‘Mana Stones’ as currency.

I had gained my first contract customer.

Of course, I didn’t request Mana Stones for no reason. I would if I could protect everyone, but with my own resources currently limited, I couldn’t just do other people favors.

Especially since this is work that requires investing various resources like Mana Stones, it was more efficient to first attract groups that had the capacity to provide Mana Stones in order to secure my own growth foundation.

But that didn’t mean they were at a loss.

As I grow stronger, they become that much safer. It’s a win-win system where if I profit, they profit along with me.

‘Of course, I’ll be the one getting the bigger profit.’

I laughed inwardly.

Doing good deeds and earning Mana Stones.

Isn’t it the best?

Meanwhile, with a large ally now in the north, a thought occurred to me.

“Now I can really just focus on Siheung Ansan.”

It was time to clean up the south.